Technology In Social Work

The modern world has become much more technological advanced over the course of several decades, making much of our current society depended on these advances. Whenever you step outside your door, you should expect to see someone using a cellphone, tablet, smartwatch, or some other form of modern technology. The social work profession is and with always be a helping profession, and acts in the best interest of their clients. As society changes, the profession must make certain adjustments in order to keep serving clients. However, we must be careful not to abandon our ethical standards and stay true to the mission and code of social work. In this paper, I will explore how recent advances in technology affects the social work profession as a
Social workers of the past began their careers using typewriters, landline phones, and visiting their clients exclusively in offices or homes (Reamer, 2013, p. 163). However, with the change in society, workers of today must now become technological savvy and learn how to document on a computer. People are always on the move and cannot always make time for appointments in an office space. So, allowing clients to participate in online counseling, telephone counseling, video counseling, and other cyber communication seems to be a plausible option. The author discussed several digital methods that social workers are beginning to use in their practice, to help better connect with their clients and ensure their
It is sometimes difficult to maintain privacy in traditional settings with clients. So, to add the complexity of using technology in practice, makes privacy maintenance even harder. The first issue the author pointed out was the technological competence of the social worker. We are already aware of the fact that the code calls us to be competent in the area of our practice and be cautious not to practice outside of our level of expertise (National Association of Social Work, standard 1.04[a]). However, in this article, the author mentioned that workers should also be technological competent and be knowledgeable of all digital media that is used in practice (Reamer, 2013, p. 166-67). Technology is not always predictable and we cannot always prevent certain issues that may occur; however, we should be aware of how to deal with such issues. The article went on to write about client privacy and confidentiality and how it can be breached without proper encryption software. Also, certain methods such as Skype, cannot not guarantee a secure connection and may not be a good tool to use in social work practice (Reamer, 2013, p.